AMC Theatres to Compete With MoviePass With Their Own Subscription Service

MoviePass, the movie theater subscription service that lets you see all the films you want for $10 a month, has new competition. Per Variety, AMC Theatres will launch its own MoviePass-esque service. It costs twice as much, and you can only see three movies a week:

On Tuesday, the theater chain will begin offering guests the chance to see up to three movies per-week for the monthly fee of $19.95. The offering is being run through its loyalty program AMC Stubs, and has been dubbed AMC Stubs A-List. In a clear dig towards MoviePass, a thorn in the exhibition business’ side because of its discounted ticketing, AMC calls its pricing “sustainable.”

Sick sustainability burn, AMC.

At my local AMCs here in New York, a single ticket costs in the $15 range, or more if you want to see something in IMAX or 3D. That is one area where this AMC service will have an advantage; it can be used to buy tickets to those kinds of screenings at no additional charge. (That’s not allowed with MoviePass.)

If you live really close to an AMC and you go to the movies regularly, this seems like a pretty good deal to me. If you go less frequently, or you prefer less mainstream films than AMC tends to exhibit, it’s less appealing. And MoviePass is still cheaper and works with more theaters. But there is that whole sustainability question that continues to linger. If you sign up for AMC Stubs A-List, let us know how the experience is. We’re genuinely curious.